Early word from the Clinton administration is it supports the World Radiocommunication Conference being held in Istanbul next spring. Is the White House serious and, if so, what are the implications?
At the International Telecommunication Union council meeting last month in Geneva, ITU Secretariat General Yoshio Utsumi called for a secret ballot of council members (the United States and 45 others) on whether WRC-2000 should be in Instanbul or moved to Geneva-ITU headquarters and traditional site of WRCs.
The ballot deadline was last Friday. If the council votes to change the venue, the matter goes before ITU’s 188 members via ballot. If a majority of the ITU agrees with the council, Instanbul is out. That could create a political firestorm worlds bigger than the telecom conference itself.
Utsumi and others are worried that construction of a new conference center wing in Istanbul won’t be completed in time for WRC-2000, which runs May 8-June 2. Work on the wing has not yet begun. But no one wants to be the heavy that deprives Turkey of the prestige and economic gain WRC-2000 would bring.
Turkey says the new wing will be finished by next March, and that-as an European Union aspirant-it is up to the task of hosting a major international event.
While not officially flagged as problematic, security undoubtedly is on the minds of prospective WRC-2000 delegates from the U.S. and elsewhere. The wireless industry, increasingly concerned about U.S. strategy for WRC-2000 on 3G and other spectrum issues, now has something else to mull.
In the days following the death sentence given Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan by a Turkish court two weeks ago, there were three attacks.
The State Department and Turkish government pooh-pooh talk of potential danger to WRC-2000 participants in Istanbul.
The U.S. owes Turkey. Our military used bases in Turkey for Kosovo air strikes that ultimately brought Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic to the bargaining table. In addition to its military value, it’s in the strategic interest of the U.S. to have a major Muslim country, like Turkey, mainstreamed into the global economic village.
All that said, terrorism is a modern-day reality. The bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania last August proved that fact once again.
So then, can the Clinton administration be serious in its unwavering backing of WRC-2000 in Istanbul and in saying security is not part of the equation?
Or, is the U.S. sending out that signal for public consumption and diplomatic effect, secretly hoping the ITU nixes Istanbul for Geneva?
The folks likely to represent the U.S. at WRC-2000 are people you and I know. I hope to God they’re not being made pawns in some half-baked White House diplomatic game.
